Prevalence and Severity of Temporomandibular Joint Disorders among Populations in Najran Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim This study assessed the prevalence and severity of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) in the absence or presence of teeth of participants in Najran region in comparison with other adult participants in other regions with respect to gender differences and age. Furthermore, it investigates the frequency of symptoms of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) by clinical examination. Materials and methods The total number of participants was 318 of both genders randomly selected for this study. The participants were divided into three age groups: 14 to 20, 21 to 40, and ≥41 years. The study was based on Fonseca's Anamnestic Index and its questionnaire, which is composed of 10 questions and classifies the severity of TMD. Clinical examination was performed for the patients to investigate the sign of TMJ dysfunctions. The obtained data were coded and entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program for analysis using Chi-square test at significance level of 5%. Results The participants with mild TMD dysfunction were 35.5%, whereas 18.6 and 3.5% were classified as moderate and severe TMD dysfunction respectively. The most reported TMD problems were related to poor articulation of teeth (23.9 and 25.5%), followed by frequent headache (15.1 and 33.6%), then grinding of teeth (15.4 and 34.9%) in “Yes” and “sometimes” answers respectively. The highest TMJ disorder was a frequent headache at 55.3%, followed by TMJ clicking at 21.1%. The remaining TMJ dysfunctions ranged between 11 and 13%. There was no significant difference between TMDs and gender (p ≤0.306). However, the severity of TMDs increased with increasing age (p ≤0.001) and was associated with tooth loss (p ≤ 0.000). Conclusion The majority of the participants had mild-tomoderate TMDs and they were found among the middle-age group. The severity of TMDs increased with age and was associated with tooth loss. No significant difference between males and females was found. The most reported TMD problems were related to the poor articulation of teeth, frequent headache, and grinding of teeth, while a headache followed by clicking of TMJ was the highest clinical TMJ disorder. How to cite this article Aldhalai MA, Alyami YAS, Al Haider YMB, Aldhili MK, Alyami DAS, Alyami SAS, Al-Moaleem MM, Alghazali N. Prevalence and Severity of Temporomandibular Joint Disorders among Populations in Najran Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. World World J Dent 2017;8(2):90-95.